{"id":13026,"date":"2016-04-15T07:00:14","date_gmt":"2016-04-15T12:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/%year%\/%monthnum%\/%day%\/americans-views-of-immigrants-marked-by-widening-partisan-generational-divides\/"},"modified":"2024-04-14T03:18:44","modified_gmt":"2024-04-14T08:18:44","slug":"americans-views-of-immigrants-marked-by-widening-partisan-generational-divides","status":"publish","type":"short-read","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2016\/04\/15\/americans-views-of-immigrants-marked-by-widening-partisan-generational-divides\/","title":{"rendered":"Americans\u2019 views of immigrants marked by widening partisan, generational divides"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Wide<\/a><\/figure>\n\n

Republicans and Democrats continue to disagree deeply over immigration policies, including how to deal with undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. and whether to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.<\/p>\n\n

Underlying these differences is a substantial \u2013 and growing \u2013 partisan divide over whether immigrants generally are a strength or burden on the country.<\/p>\n\n

For more than 20 years, Pew Research Center has been asking whether immigrants in the U.S. \u201cstrengthen our country because of their hard work and talents,\u201d or whether they \u201care a burden on our country because they take our jobs, housing and health care.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

In that time period, opinions about immigrants have shifted dramatically. In our latest national political survey, released in March,<\/a> 59% of the public say immigrants strengthen the country, while 33% describe them as a burden. In 1994, opinions were nearly the reverse: 63% said immigrants were a burden and 31% said they strengthened the country.<\/p>\n\n

Between 1994 and 2005, Republicans\u2019 and Democrats\u2019 views of immigrants tracked one another closely. Beginning around 2006, however, they began to diverge. In October that year, the partisan gap between Republicans and Democrats grew to 15 percentage points. Since then, the share of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents saying that immigrants strengthen the country steadily increased, from 49% then to 78% now, while the share with this view among Republicans and Republican leaners has shown little change (34% then, 35% today).<\/p>\n\n

\"Growing<\/a><\/figure>\n\n

Generational differences in attitudes about immigrants have been evident since the mid-1990s, but they too have grown wider.<\/p>\n\n

As of March, 76% of Millennials say immigrants strengthen the country, up from 59% in early 2013. Among those in Generation X, there has been an 11-point increase in positive views of immigrants since then (60% now, 49% then).<\/p>\n\n

Among both Baby Boomers and those in the Silent Generation, opinion about immigrants grew more positive between 2013 and 2014, but has become more negative since then. Today, 48% of Boomers and just 41% of Silents say immigrants strengthen the country.<\/p>\n\n